No Bake Strawberry Swirl Cheesecake With a Pretzel Crust

Vodka-soaked strawberries

Rinse, hull and half 16 ounces of fresh strawberries. 

Place in a glass bowl and cover with one cup of vodka. Soak for one hour. 

Drain vodka, cover and store strawberries in the refrigerator until you’re ready to garnish cheesecake.

Pretzel crust

Grease a 9 inch springform pan with butter.

Pulse pretzels in a food processor until they form powdery-fine crumbs.

Add melted butter, brown sugar and salt. Pulse until combined and saturation is consistent

Press pretzel mixture into the bottom of springform pan. Using the bottom of a glass to pack crust evenly and tightly.

Freeze for 10 minutes until set.

Strawberry swirl

Puree rinsed, hulled and diced strawberries with sugar in a food processor. 

Strain puree through a mesh sieve to remove seeds. 

Add puree to a small saucepan over medium heat and simmer for 5 minutes. 

Add water and cornstarch and stir until thickened.

Set aside to cool completely at room temperature then transfer to a covered bowl to chill in the refrigerator until cheesecake is ready to be swirled.

Cheesecake

Beat softened cream cheese until smooth.

Add powdered sugar and vanilla. Beat on high until smooth and lump free.

In a separate bowl, whisk heavy cream until stiff peaks form. (Approximately 5 minutes.)

Gently fold heavy cream into cream cheese mixture with a rubber spatula until combined.

Assembly

Pour cheesecake filling into pretzel crust and smooth top with a spatula until evenly distributed.

Drop dollops of strawberry sauce onto cheesecake and swirl gently with a chopstick or butter knife.

Refrigerate until cheesecake is set (approximately 2 hours) then cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.

Store leftovers covered in the refrigerator up to 5 days or freeze up to 3 months.